I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at J. Crew (New York, NY) in Aug 2012
Interview
A lengthy process involving multiple visits. HR provided little background info to asset in prepping. First round I met with 4 different people. Second round I had a surprise style-out with a Merchant and then met with the VP and EVP of Merchandising. On my third round, I met with people from outside of the area I was interviewing for and then finally met with Mickey Drexler. It was a very abnormal interview, as they typically are with him.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Mickey fired off questions non-stop asking me about biggest risks I'd taken with follow ups on how much I bought, why didn't I buy more, how did this impact my business. His final question was "are you a good merchant?"
Interview process was straightforward with good communication. I was quickly put in contact with a hiring manager and we had a good, informative, and pleasant first round interview. Would recommend to others.